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Anyone here has had hearing problems? I have problem hearing speech for some weird reason, last time I tested at a militry hospital (and they have an actual acoustic "recording" room for that test... I think its a bit excessive) and the doctor said my hearing range is weird, because I am unsensitive to the mid-bass range of pitches, you know exactly where human voice is, and most people who has hearing damage have trouble hearing higher pitch. So basically he doesnt know what to do about it...
Course this has caused a lot of problems with people too because some think I am not listening to him even though I am I just couldnt hear him too well...
Don't forget to O/T messages of this nature.
If hearing is a problem for you, go and see a specialist.
Those military doctors sound a bit dodgy.
When i play in my band i always wear ear protection otherwise i get really awful ringing in my ears for days. I have very sensitive ears and have had many ear infections when i was a little kid. It is kinda strange that you have trouble hearing the mid-lower frequencies but can hear the higher frequences fine. I thought it was the direct opposite in most cases.
However i'm no expert on this topic, go see a specialist.
Sorry... I figured since most longhairs here were talking about problems with personality or problems that can interfere with social life (such as poor hearing) that I'd think it is on topic. Yea I think its weird to have weak hearing AT voice pitch, because that just makes social life suck since people think you arent paying attention to him. I used to have a bad ear infection when I was like 10 years old I think it may have left perm. damage because of that. It really sucks you can hear all the other annoying noises but not human voice, which sucks at class or at work where theres lots of other noise and u cant hear what they're trying to tell you, and asking to speak louder just makes them think you're being rude.
I have been losing my hearing for some time and wear BTE (behind the ear) hearing aids. Hearing aids, while expensive, can help all kinds of hearing loss. With everyone wearing IPODS, hearing loss will soon be a BIG problem.
You should also learn sign language. Each country has a different version of SL, but many of the signs are used by all. I know some American Sign Language (ASL). There are groups for hard-of-hearing and deaf people.
Losing one's hearing can be very frustrating. One time, I was at a social service place, and a man called out my name. He said, "Do you realize that this is the third time I've called you?" in a really sarcastic loud voice.
I replied (equally loud), "Do you realize that some people are hard of hearing or deaf?"
You should have seen him!
If you need to talk, feel free to email me. I know it is difficult.
TLH
My hearing is very bad, too. I was born with it that way. I hear everything at normal volume but all garbled. Because of the "normal volume" thing, I was for years told my hearing was fine. When a tester finally tried me on words instead of tones, we found out different.
The toughest problem is sorting out competing sounds. While most people hearing two sounds can pick between them, I just hear them all mushed together, getting almost nothing. This means I do best in small groups rather than in big crowds, and I do best in quiet places. I've learned that to maximize my social enjoyment to seek out such situations.
I count on lip reading and visual context to a large degree, both of which are missing on the telephone. I thus also tend to avoid the telephone. The telephone is very stressful and I don't remember much of what little I do hear on it.
Research has shown that 90% of what people learn by ear in a workplace is learned from "overhearing" - picking up the content of conversation that is going on between others. I almost never overhear anything, so I must miss a lot. If something is not said directly to me, I almost never get it.
Over the years, I've learned that to enjoy life one must just celebrate the perception that he has. If I perceive the world differently that the guy next to me, that is fine.
One great advantage of lousy hearing is I almost never hear negative comments about having long hair. Most people don't make such comments to your face, they make them at a distance hoping you'll overhear them, and I don't! [grin]
If you can, take a coping skills class from an agency that serves the deaf or hard of hearing. Mine took most of a weekend. They will teach you a lot about interacting with the social landscape that can improve your connectivity to it.
Bill
You are right, Bill. And good advice. Not all hearing loss can be treated with hearing aids. In fact, some deaf people refuse to wear them because they can be irritating. I think they are actually accelerating my hearing loss.
With the IPODS and MP3's it will only get worse. For those of you who have one, keep the volume down. Although there are some advantages to being deaf, the disadvantages far outweigh them.
TLH
If you think the hearing aids are making your hearing worse, you must be turning them up to high. That can be just like the too loud headphones.
I've got two sets, one behind the ear set and one in the ear set. I however almost never use them because I can do better without them usually. With them in, it's just everything seems too loud and a cacophony, not just what you want to hear. My right ear is nearly normal, so that helps out. I 'hear' the digital ones are better though.
I myself dont have hearing problems since i am only 14 but i thinkj the way its going alot of kids my age are going to end up with servre hearing problems. as good as th IPODS and MP3 players are they have the downside of damaging ears. thats y i barley ever listn to my mp3 player. i think that music sounds better coming out of a stereo or speakers anyway.
